But Still We Go On
by dasBuscus
Summary: Abandoned by the Noxian navy during the Ionian-Noxian War, Flight Commander Riven Blade seeks retribution for the atrocities committed by her former superiors. Where does she go? The seat of the Ionian fleet's firepower, the "Blade of Hiten." Meh, I feel like the summary was lacking. Depending on where the story goes, the rating might change.


Rivelia... IN SPACE!

Ch. 1

"Admiral Lito, we have a ship on the radar."

"One of ours?"

"IFF is reading as Noxian. But the format is from several years ago."

"Any clue as to what kind of ship it is?"

"Sensors are showing… An Oracle-class battlecruiser."

"Think it could be a trap?"

"It's a possibility, but I doubt it. We haven't seen any Noxian forces for weeks."

"Scan for life signs."

"Just a few seconds... Looks like there's only one person on board. Probably the pilot."

"Send out a few escorts. Bring it in."

Irelia Lito, Admiral of the Ionia Space Defense Force's flagship, the _Blade of Hiten_ , (built and given to the young captain in honor of her defeat of an invading Noxian fleet in orbit of the Ionian home world) gazed out into the vast expanse of space. The twinkling stars never failed to take her breath away, no matter how many times she saw them. There were just so many of them; billions upon trillions of pinpricks of colored light shining against a black background. Six more purple-ish blue lights entered her view, along with a rather large pair of bright blue clusters, and began streaking away towards a point only their navigation computers could find. At that point, hopefully, there would be a ship for them to bring back.

A few minutes later, the communications officer received a message and turned up the volume so everyone on the bridge of the _Blade of Hiten_ could hear it.

"Bridge, this is Dragon Leader. We have established communication with the battle battlecruiser, and we are bringing it back now. Over."

"Bridge to Dragon Leader, sounds good. Bring it in to docking bay 3. Over."

"Roger that, Bridge. Over and out."

Irelia let out a breath she didn't realize she had been holding; from what she knew of Noxians, they normally wouldn't surrender so easily. She had honestly been expecting a fight. Or at least a suicide bombing. Deciding that a Noxian who would surrender could be worth meeting, she decided to go down to the docking bay and meet this person.

"XO, you have command. I'm going to go meet this person."

Ignoring the stuttered affirmative, Irelia stood up from her captain's chair and left the command center of the _Blade of Hiten_.

Riven had been expecting the Ionians to find her. After a few days of drifting along one of their patrol routes — her red-headed ex-girlfriend in the Noxian High Command had supplied the information; despite Riven's abandonment of Noxus, it seemed she still cared about her — the heavily customized Oracle battlecruiser had picked up several very large signatures surrounded by slightly smaller ones.

The Oracle was a bit of an oddity amongst the Noxian navy; it supported larger guns than any other Noxian battlecruiser, but at the cost of weaker shield systems and weaker armor.

"Must be the main fleet for so many capital ships."

Riven took a few seconds to check the friend-or-foe system, and they all showed up as Ionian.

"Just who I was looking for."

Riven started her battlecruiser's navigation system, knowing fully that she would show up on her former enemy's scanners. The largest ship was unknown to her ship's AI, but this only gave the former Noxian momentary pause. Less than a minute and a half after starting her ship's engine, several smaller craft detached from the unknown one and rapidly approached the battlecruiser. One led the others to a spot roughly 500 meters from Riven's battlecruiser; close enough to destroy her with ease if she showed any signs of hostility. The communications system pinged, and Riven was quick to answer it. A man's gravelly voice filtered through the communication system's speakers.

"State your identity and allegiance."

Since Riven wasn't really looking for a fight and her battlecruiser's large Tachyon Heavy lasers wouldn't be able to do much against so many small ships as well as a pair of opposing battlecruisers, she decided it would probably be a good idea to answer both promptly and honestly.

"Riven Blade, formerly of the Noxus Third Attack Flotilla. I no longer owe allegiance to anyone."

Riven could almost feel the man tense in his ship. The Third Attack Flotilla had been the one tasked with "cleansing" the Ionian planets, and as a result there was an embargo and quite possibly a kill order on any Noxian ship caught near Ionian space. When the leader responded, his voice could have made the vacuum of space seem warm.

"State your purpose in Ionian space."

"... That's a bit of a sensitive topic. I would prefer to discuss it exclusively with your captain."

"Not an option. Either you tell us, and unconditionally surrender, or you die alone."

"Ugh. Fine. Have it your way. I'm trying to make amends for my part in the war. I thought if I started with the military, I would have somewhere to turn if things went downhill."

"Noxian, simply by being here you are digging yourself a grave. But I have orders to retrieve your ship, and I will give you two options. Give my AI control of your navigation system, and we will make sure you reach the _Blade of Hiten_ safely. Your other option is death."

"The _Blade of Hiten_... So that must be the unknown capital ship." Absorbed in her musings, Riven didn't notice the man end the communications. Absentmindedly she opened up her navigation system, and a notification popped up as an unregistered AI (hopefully Ionian in origin) took control. The battlecruiser lurched into motion, and the group of Ionian ships reformed around the battlecruiser, holding their original distance. Apparently the AI was the correct one, because none of the fighters opened fire on the battle battlecruiser. After what seemed like an hour, Riven finally gained a visual on her destination. The ship she saw was nothing short of a titan. Slightly over 14 kilometers long, the _Blade of Hiten_ was one of the largest starships Riven had ever seen. The colossal ship had the appearance of a metal thunderhead; black alloys with green undertones lined every surface creating a sort of aura that seemed to say, "I can end you in a matter of seconds. And there is nothing you can do about it." While Riven couldn't see the armaments it wielded very well, she knew for a fact that a ship this big could destroy her own battlecruiser with hardly any effort and in very little time.

Steadily drawing closer and closer, Riven's battlecruiser began to change course and move towards one docking bay, while the escorts split off and returned to what Riven could assume to be their original docking bay. Still on autopilot, her ship slowed down as it approached the entrance of the hangar. A few words in a language Riven couldn't read flashed by on one of the three holographic panels Riven had installed a few years earlier. As soon as the last word cleared the screen, Riven's ship began to slowly move into the hangar of its own accord.

Once Riven's comparatively tiny battlecruiser docked next to a pair of slightly smaller cruisers – Riven recognized them as Vexors, the go-to workhorse of the Ionian Navy – she began the short process of powering down the AI that operated the ship in lieu of an actual crew. It was the AI that managed the tracking systems of the 8 Tachyon Heavy lasers, the AI that managed the propulsion systems, and the AI that managed the damage control units scattered throughout her ship. In short, this AI was the brain of the ship. By powering it down, Riven was leaving her ship defenseless. A few short minutes later, Riven was doing a sort of final inspection of her clothes just before she exited her ship.

Upon lowering the boardwalk to leave her battlecruiser, Riven was greeted with something she certainly hadn't been expecting: a full company of Ionian Marines, and at their head a woman she could only assume was of importance. There was something about this woman that made Riven feel… Off. Whether it was the way the unknown woman made Riven's throat constrict ever so slightly, or the way her heart beat just a bit faster, it wasn't how Riven normally felt. Thoughts scrambling through her brain, Riven could only remember one other person who had ever made her feel this way, and she was far, far away from Riven, operating from the shadows under the order of the Noxian High Command. At this point Riven was fairly certain she had found something Ionian she could enjoy.


End file.
